Histoire Locale

This rendition of the Shawbridge grocery store and snack bar once owned by Henry Bishinsky is by artist Michael Litvack.

Townships Trivia: More Oddities (Answers)

1) c. The former Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos is 2 km wide, 350 metres deep and about 6 square kilometres in area.
2) d. CANUSA Street, in Beebe, takes its name from the fact that houses on one side of the street are in Canada, while those on the other side are in the United States.
3) a. For years, Frelighsburg was named Slab City after the large quantities of "slabs" (slang for tree bark) found in the village that was once home to several sawmills.

Townships Trivia: More Oddities

--October 22, 2016.

1) Where is the largest open-pit asbestos mine in the Western Hemisphere located?
a) Thetford Mines
b) Graniteville
c) Asbestos
d) Marbleton

2) Where is there a street named CANUSA?
a) Potton
b) Abercorn
c) Sutton
d) Beebe

3) Which village was once known as Slab City?
a) Frelighsburg
b) Pike River
c) Cherry River
d) Bury

4) Which village was once called Sucker City?
a) Fitch Bay
b) Cherry River
c) Pike River
d) Lennoxville

Townships Trivia: Oddities (answers)

1) b. The twelve-sided Walbridge Barn is unique in the world.
2) c. The Canada-U.S. border runs right through the Haskell Opera House. The stage is located on the Canadian side of the building, while most of the seats are in the U.S. The door to the opera house is in the United States, but Canadians don't need to go through customs!
3) d. Saint-Armand's Guthrie covered bridge is only 14.9 metres (45 feet), making it the province's smallest covered bridge. Built in 1845, it is also the oldest.
4) d. Eccles Hill, the site of the infamous Fenian Raid of 1870.

Townships Trivia: Oddities

--October 21, 2016.

1) What architectural landmark is the little village of Mystic most famous for?
a) The former convent of the Ursuline Nuns
b) A unique twelve-side barn
c) Quebec's tallest cell tower
d) All of the above

2) Where in the Townships can you perform on a stage to an audience sitting in another country?
a) The Abercorn Theatre in Abercorn
b) The Orford Arts Centre in Highwater
c) The Haskell Opera House in Stanstead
d) Nowhere, that's just crazy

Shawbridge Reminiscences

--April 5, 2016.

It was not quite dancing in the streets. More accurately, there was a lot of strolling and conversation. Between World Wars I and II Shawbridge was a magnet for the residents of Montreal's teeming Jewish neighbourhoods. Road access was poor but the train made the little community on the lower side of the bridge, across the North River a welcome respite from the city. Shawbridge served as a summer resort destination. There were cottages available to rent weekly or for the season and modest hotel/rooming houses.